Victoria's energy minister is demanding answers from the nation's electricity market operator on how it deals with extreme weather events.
Lily D'Ambrosio and the Australian Energy Market Operator are at odds over whether parts of Victoria would have suffered power cuts as a result of the NSW heatwave earlier this month.
As Sydney sweltered on February 10, Ms D'Ambrosio says she was phoned by the AEMO who "said they were going to risk interrupting electricity supply in western Victoria (Bendigo and Ballarat) to make sure NSW could keep the lights on".
Most of Victoria experienced moderate conditions that Friday, but Bendigo reached 41.3C and Ballarat hit 34.3C.
However, AEMO emphatically denies Ms D'Ambrosio's claims, with a spokesman saying electricity in Victoria was never under threat.
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The minister is now demanding answers over the decisions AEMO makes in extreme weather events.
"How does AEMO operate when there is a crisis? How are these decisions made?" she asked in a statement.
"It's time to stop wasting time with political games, we need to identify the issues and get on with the job of fixing the network."
